The spectacular blooms of ‘Arabian Nights’ martagon lilies open to reveal dark purple pedals and spotted orange throats announcing the arrival summer in the garden.
Martagons are some of the first lilies of the season to flower, a prelude to their larger cousins, which are the queens of the summer garden. Their fragrance hangs in the air on humid nights, a heavenly perfume that is simply intoxicating.
It's just one of the ephemeral joys of time spent in the garden.
These lilies were planted last fall but can also be planted now and will return year after year. The bulbs and plants can be found at any good garden center.
They’ll need protection from deer, either by planting in a fenced area or religiously spraying the plants with a repellent.
They are just one of the plants to add to the landscape this month, and if the flower and vegetable garden has not been planted yet, there’s still plenty of time to get the job done. In fact, getting a garden in now, could lead to great successes due to warmer weather.
In the vegetable garden this is particularly true for the heat loving crops like tomatoes, peppers, beans, vine crops like cucumbers and many others.
Tomatoes are the most popular crop for home gardeners and will thrive in warm soil that makes their roots cozy and air temperatures reminiscent of an Italian spring.
Choose a variety of different types of tomatoes; cherries, early producing, mid-season and big beefsteaks which are harvested later in the season.
There are many interesting and wonderful varieties available at local nurseries. Have fun and grow something fun and different. You might find a new favorite. ‘Sungold’ is a sweet, orange cherry tomato which puts on fruit quickly. Last year some were planted on July 31 and still produced tomatoes before frost.
Check the plant tags to see how long each variety takes to mature.
That’s also true for peppers, especially sweet bell peppers. Look for varieties that are ready in 70 to 80 days. No worries for most hot peppers, as they will happily produce fruit in late summer.
The key to a green thumb is in the soil, adding organic matter like compost at every planting will go a long way to growing healthy, happy plants.
Tomatoes and peppers can be planted in containers, for both go big, 15 gallons or larger. Any smaller and the pots will be hard to keep watered during the heat of the summer. It’s important that the soil for both plants stays evenly moist otherwise they can get something called blossom end rot. It’s a calcium deficiency, but the calcium is usually in the soil, but without water, the calcium can’t get to the fruit.
Ignore recommendations to add eggshells, Tums, Epsom salts and other home remedies, they won’t help.
A 15 gallon container is a great home for one pepper plant, it will become shrub like when growing in good soil and fertilized regularly. All peppers love heat and plenty of water. A big container next to a brick wall in full sun is a recipe for great peppers.
For the flower garden, nurseries are still stocked with flats filled with colorful blooms.
The annual flowers will bloom from now until frost, producing summer and fall flowers. There’s a simple design principle where bigger flowers go in the back of the border with smaller varieties in front.
As far as color combinations go, only you can decide what works and what doesn’t. If it’s beautiful to you, then it’s beautiful. Don’t let anyone tell you chartreuse and pink don’t go together if you love the pairing.
If there’s no place to plant them, look at containers. There’s a simple formula to fill the pot. In the center is one big plant called the thriller, surrounded by some smaller fillers and then spillers falling over the edge fo the pot.
Perennial flowers don’t usually put on as long of a show, but they come back every season. Once in place, like the lilies, the anticipation of their blooms is an annual garden tradition that fills the heart with joy.
Roses have an unfounded reputation for being hard to grow. Give them good soil and at least six hours of sun and they will bloom consistently. There are a variety of tough shrub roses which will bloom most of the summer like ‘Knock Out’ and others.
‘Funny Face’ is a long blooming type with a mild fragrance and flowers that open reddish pink, fading to light pink all summer long.
Don’t let another season go by without planting a few favorite vegetables and flowers, you’ll be happy you did while enjoying the blooms and nibbling on fresh produce.
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Host of "In Doug's Garden" on CBS KDKA-TV Streaming
Host of the Talking Trees podcast for The Davey Tree Expert Company
Consultant for Farm to Table Buy Fresh Buy Local
Columnist for Pittsburgh Earth Day's "The Green Voice"
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